THE most contentious obstacle to Nigeria’s transfer of the Bakassi Peninsula was removed yesterday, after the Senate gave President Umaru Yar’Adua the go-ahead to proceed with the hand-over.

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Not a few Nigerians had drawn the attention of the Federal Government to its failure, up to yesterday, to obtain the approval of the Senate in ceding the Peninsula as required by Section 13 of the 1999 Constitution.

The section says: “No treaty between the Federation and any other country shall have the force of law except to the extent to which any such treaty has been enacted into law by the National Assembly.”

Indeed, the endorsement was the reason for the resumption from recess, yesterday, by the Senate.

Just before the Senate gave the green light yesterday, the opposition Action Congress (AC) had issued a statement, asking the Federal Government to defer the handover “if indeed the government believes in its own rule of law and due process mantra.

Explaining the Senate action, following a closed door session, its spokesman, Chief Ayogu Eze, blamed the procedure adopted by the Obasanjo administration for the situation the country now found itself.

He argued that Nigeria could not afford to renege on its international obligations, stressing that the Senate was satisfied with considerations provided for in the Green Tree Agreement on the welfare of displaced persons from the area. He also expressed satisfaction that the agreement had been dressed in a way that would not impede the country’s military interests in the eastern flank.

Senator Eze, all the same, expressed the Senate’s distress at the loss of a part of the country. Nigeria, according to him, is obliged by its commitments to abide by both the ruling of the International Court of Justice and the following Green Tree Agreement.

Senator Eze who also said a fresh draft of the Freedom of Information Bill (FoI) would soon be re-presented to the Senate for consideration, said: “Nigeria is a signatory to the ICJ. Nigeria is a responsible member of the of the international community. Nigeria is an aspiring member of the Security Council. So we have to put all these into a basket.

“We put ourselves in a tight corner. What the President is doing is being careful by making sure that we don’t jeopardise the overall international interest and obligations of Nigeria on account of this unfortunate but avoidable mess in Bakassi.

“But we have already found ourselves there. Nigeria initiated the legal action. We took the matter to the ICJ. If we did not believe in the authority of ICJ, we should not have gone to court in the first place.

“Another view is that, having gone to court, and seen the way it was going, we should have pulled out but we did not do that. We stayed there and the judgement landed on our lap.

“This is a delicate matter and Nigerians should see it as such. There is nobody who is happy that any territory of Nigeria is going away. I know that even when southern Cameroun left, there was a hoopla in the country,” Eze said as he called for caution against entreaties to violence.

Giving the assurances received by the Senate on the issue, he said: “We have already been assured contrary to speculations that that part of Bakassi is not really very heavy with mineral deposit as alleged.”

Besides giving the country’s determination to sustaining the welfare of the citizens of that area, he noted the assurances given on the protection of the country’s military interests in the area.

“The item that consummated the agreement spelt out that on no account should Cameroun constitute an impediment to Nigerian military forces having access or exit from Bakassi into the Nigerian water. That has been the major security issue that was raised and that has been addressed in the Green Tree Agreement,” he said.

AC asks FG to defer Bakassi handover

Earlier yesterday, the Action Congress (AC) asked the Federal Government to defer to a later date the planned handover today of the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroun “if indeed the government believes in its own rule of law and due process mantra.”

In a statement in Abuja, its National Publicity Secretary of the AC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the delay would give the government time to submit the Green Tree Agreement to the National Assembly for ratification, thereby ensuring that the laws of Nigeria are not breached just to satisfy the international community.

AC said it backed the argument that the handover of the peninsula to Cameroun would be in vain if the Yar’Adua administration failed to seek the ratification, by the National Assembly, of the agreement it signed in New York with Cameroun over the implementation of the 2002 ruling of International Court of Justice (ICJ).

It said Section 12 (I) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was unambiguous: “No treaty between the Federation and any other country shall have the force of law except to the extent to which any such treaty has been enacted into law by the National Assembly.”

The party said if the Yar’Adua administration failed to follow the country’s Constitution and went ahead to hand over Bakassi to Cameroun today, it would have broken the country’s laws and set the stage for the enthronement of arbitrariness and expediency over rule of law and due process.

“Even if the government has scoffed at the ruling of Justice Muhammed Umar of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, restraining the FG from handing over the peninsula until the determination of the case brought by Bakassi indigenes, it cannot afford to trash the Nigerian Constitution.

“The temptation to go ahead with the handover, just to win some immediate favours from the international community, especially by an administration that is standing on one foot, is so great. But succumbing to it will bring more pain than joy at the end.

“We, therefore, join well-meaning Nigerians and organisations to appeal to the Yar’Adua administration to do the right thing before handing over Bakassi, in line with the ICJ ruling. Nothing is sacrosanct about August 14 that it cannot be deferred,” AC said.

Handover holds in Abana

Today’s handover is taking place at Abana, former headquarters of Bakassi Local Government.

The choice of Abana, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), was made after an intense security meeting on Tuesday between Cross River Government officials and the Presidency.

It was not clear yesterday the exact place in Abana where the event would take place.

Chief Florence Ita-Giwa, Chairman of Bakassi Resettlement Committee, could not confirm the venue on Tuesday but the Secretary to the Cross River State Government, Mr. Fidelis Ugbo, in a statement confirmed Abana as venue of the ceremony.

The statement, issued on Tuesday, explained that the handing over was in keeping with the judgment of the International Court of Justice at The Hague and in line with Nigeria’s desire to maintain its leadership position in Africa.

“It is also for the country to ensure peace and good neighbourliness in the continent and the world,” the statement added.

It said the Federal Government believed in the rule of law and appealed to the displaced people of Bakassi and other ethnic nationalities to remain calm.

“We urge you all to remain calm and cooperate with the federal and state governments to ensure a smooth and memorable handing over ceremony,”said the statement.

It reminded the people that they were known to be peaceful and hospitable and should live up to the rating. The statement also assured Bakassi people of the state government’s desire to integrate all Nigerians in the area into the economy “by providing ample opportunity for those willing to promote enterprise.”

The government also commended traditional rulers, political stalwarts and leaders of thought of Bakassi people for their understanding over the matter.

Ban Ki-moon hails handover

The handover is expected to put an end to a 15-year dispute over the territory believed to contain considerable oil and gas reserves.

Last week, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed Nigeria’s upcoming transfer as “a model for negotiated settlements of border disputes,” saying it would be “a landmark event.”

Nigeria agreed to transfer Bakassi, which juts into the Gulf of Guinea, two years ago but sporadic gun battles and political and legal disagreements have delayed it.

A Cameroun government official said today’s transfer marked “the end of a crisis” that began in December 1993 when the Nigerian army occupied a number of villages on the peninsula.

Cameroun first took its case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in March 1994.

After a drawn-out legal battle, the ICJ ruled in October 2002 that the Bakassi peninsula be given to Cameroun. It based its decision largely on a 1913 treaty between former colonial powers Britain and Germany.

Cameroun and Nigeria then signed an accord, known as the Green Tree Agreement, in New York in June 2006 during US-facilitated mediation talks and in the presence of then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

This paved the way for Nigeria’s withdrawal from Bakassi, which is expected to be completed in a flag-exchanging ceremony today.

But the handover has been threatened by last-minute legal challenges and a number of deadly attacks.

Last month, a federal court in Abuja granted an injunction preventing the government from handing over Bakassi to Cameroun by its agreed deadline.

Despite the move, President Umaru Yar’Adua insisted Nigeria would not abandon its international obligations.

The peninsula, which is believed to contain considerable oil and gas reserves as well as rich fishing grounds, has also been the scene of violent attacks in recent months.

Approximately 50 people have been killed in recent clashes between Camerounian soldiers and local armed groups opposed to the transfer in the peninsula that spans 1,000 square kilometres.

Last month, the Niger Delta Defence and Security Council (NDDSC) claimed responsibility for an attack at Kombo Ajanea, in which 12 people died, including two Camerounian soldiers.

The armed Nigerian group threatened further violence unless the transfer of Bakassi is renegotiated.

Although the peninsula’s official population size is not known, it is thought most of its inhabitants are Nigerian, while Camerounians make up the majority of the civil servants and military personnel.

A school head in Akwa, a Cameroun locality from where you can see Nigeria, said he welcomed the transfer. “We are looking forward to August 14 with a lot hope,” Bernard Ambeno said.